National Immigrant Integration Conference to Focus on Solutions to Strengthen Diverse Communities

“Our focus is on real solutions to provide immigrants who are already in this country the opportunity to participate fully in the civic activities that define American life” said Gustavo Torres, ED of CASA de Maryland

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) August 02, 2012

The largest national conference to bring together a cross-section of immigrant integration leaders and advocates, the National Immigrant Integration Conference 2012 (NIIC 2012), will be held Sept. 22-25 in Baltimore, Md. NIIC 2012 is designed to take the public dialogue on immigration beyond the border enforcement headlines and dive deep into the effort to ensure immigrants have the opportunity to become integral members of the U.S. communities they call home.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, NAACP President Ben Jealous and Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, along with a range of experts, are featured speakers at the conference.

Nearly 40 million immigrants live in America, comprising 13 percent of the total population and 16 percent of the total labor force, and immigrants are key drivers of small business growth. Immigrants are also more likely to live without health care and more vulnerable to workplace violations. Immigrant integration, a two-way process that strengthens the systems and tools that allow immigrants in the U.S. to participate fully in their communities, benefits us all by providing people with the opportunity to contribute to the their fullest capacity to their families, jobs and communities.

“In a year dominated by politics and controversy, our focus is on real solutions to provide immigrants who are already in this country the opportunity to participate fully in the civic activities that define American life” said Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA de Maryland, who is hosting the conference. “Successful integration pathways are essential to the future of our nation.”

The conference will focus on empowering immigrants to build stronger, healthier communities. Important topics that will be addressed include access to education, the political process, health care, religious institutions and commercial resources, like banking.

“We’re expanding the vision of what it means to be American and diversifying the vision of who can achieve the American Dream,” Torres said. “Together we can effectively develop policies and programs to create a just and welcoming democracy for all.”

For more information or to register for the conference, visit http://www.integrationconference.org. Journalists are welcome to attend the conference and are asked to register in advance by emailing Diane Quest at diane(at)caminopr(dot)com. Read this fact sheet for more information about the importance of immigrant integration.

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The National Immigrant Integration Conference 2012 (NIIC 2012) is the largest national conference to bring together immigrant integration leaders and advocates from across the country. The conference is the signature event of the National Partnership for New Americans. Participants represent a broad cross-section of professionals whose day-to-day work can inform this conversation, including experts on immigration and refugee policies, service providers, academics, government officials and advocates — all of whom are committed to finding innovative and effective ways to develop policies and programs that promote active citizenship and a just and welcoming democracy for all.